


Stardust

by The_Plaid_Slytherin



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Data Storage, Death Star, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-04 20:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10288445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Plaid_Slytherin/pseuds/The_Plaid_Slytherin
Summary: Galen plans the flaw in the Death Star using a very old medium.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/gifts).



They had not put him in a cell, but it was a prison nonetheless. Krennic had told him cheerfully that he was free, but Galen knew he was only free in so far as he could leave if he wanted to; he would only have to face the consequences. It was something he considered in those first weeks of pacing the apartment, so very like the one he'd shared with his family before they'd fled Coruscant.

The outside world didn't look different when he pressed his face to the window. The same speeders going by, the traffic droids, the adscreens. You wouldn't know to look at it that the Emperor was in power. Galen tried to imagine that everything was as it had been, but the banners draping the walls of the former Jedi Temple destroyed the illusion. He closed the blinds. 

No amount of imagining would change what had happened. Especially not when he had the project to work on. 

The door opened and Galen turned. He wasn't surprised to see Krennic. No one else came to see him, not that he desired any other visitors. The only people who mattered were gone, though he hoped Jyn was safe. It was, in fact, his only hope. 

And it was because of this hope that he raised his eyes to Krennic. 

"You keep it rather dark in here," Krennic said, as he went over to the light panel and spoke into the controls. "Forty percent brighter. You don't mind, do you?" 

Galen schooled his expression. "Of course not."

"Good." Krennic smiled at him, a hint of the man he'd been, the man Galen had proudly called friend. "I'm worried about you, Galen. You should come to work. See our facility rather than hiding out here and transmitting your research."

"That suits me well enough."

"Nonsense. Besides, when you see what we're doing on Scarif—you'll fall back in love with it. I know you will. It's the greatest achievement of all civilization. History will know your name."

Galen suppressed a shudder. That was what he was afraid of. "The greatest achievement if all you wish to achieve is destruction."

Krennic crossed the room, his cape sweeping behind him. "Safety. This battle station is going to protect the people of the galaxy. Those Rebel groups won't dare strike when they see what it can do. And then we'll have peace. What more could you want than that?"

Galen didn't answer. There was no point in explaining to Krennic that it would serve only as a deterrent to defiance. It would lead to safety, yes, but what was the point of living in such safety? "You make it sound very enticing."

"There's the man I know," Krennic said triumphantly. "I knew you would eventually realize the importance of the work we're doing."

Galen grunted noncommittally. 

Krennic frowned. Again, Galen sensed true concern, but it didn't move him. "I know you miss them, Galen. And believe me, we are looking for Jyn. We'll find her." 

Galen took a deep breath. Active resistance would make it worse. "Thank you," he said. "You're a good friend, Krennic."

Krennic patted his shoulder. "If there's anything I can do, let me know."

"I will."

Galen watched him leave, an idea beginning to form in his mind. Perhaps Krennic would be quite a bit of help. 

He would need a plan first, however. Galen had never been terribly good at plans, despite being an engineer. They didn't come as naturally to him as did the interconnectedness of the systems he worked on. 

He went over to his console, deep in thought. He had access to the plans for the weapon. Krennic had said he would need them to see his research put to good use. Now that he knew what it was, it was plain to see. But perhaps he could still do some good. There were people out there, Saw's people, people Lyra knew, who were resisting the Empire's reach. There was no way Galen could fight with them, no way he could get himself safely out of his apartment block, much less off of Coruscant to wherever the Rebellion was. He wouldn't have even known where to go. 

But he could do something with the plans. 

He dragged his finger over the data screen, examining the battle station from all angles. He hadn't been able to bring himself to look at its weapons array before, nor its defensive capabilities. He'd concentrated on the crystals and the crystals alone. It was bad enough that they would power a weapon. He didn't want to know any more. 

But now there was an opportunity. Find a flaw and exploit it… 

The exhaust system.

The exhaust system wasn't supposed to be his domain, but Krennic had told him he could change anything he wanted from the original Geonosian plan, but he hadn't needed to. Powering the main laser had required some rerouting of power in life support and other systems, but the exhaust system had been fine the way it was.

Galen sat back in his chair. There were design programs he could use to model his idea, but they could be tracked. For all he knew, his entire system was logged, every keystroke, every voice command, every screen touch. He pitied the poor underling who had to do it, but it meant he wasn't safe to experiment on-screen.

He got up and went to the desk. He rarely used it, as he hadn't been driven to work in the way he had before he'd lost his family. He hoped it was still there.

There it was. The battered old notebook had been Lyra's originally, and he'd been fascinated by her interest in paper. Krennic had made fun of her for being so reliant on a dead medium—it was wasteful to spend so many credits on something so finite. But despite his initial horror (the precious trees!), he'd come to understand why she preferred an analogue medium.

Perhaps it was fitting that he was going to use it now.

He took out the notebook. It was well-thumbed, about the size of a handheld datapad, and the pages caught in the binding as he turned them. The filled pages were too raw to pour over now, too many memories of Lyra and Jyn, whose babyhood she had obsessively tracked in her cramped scrawl. 

He turned to the end, a fresh page, and picked up the pen. His hand was clumsy after so long without practice; he drew on-screen with a stylus, but this was different. It felt awkward in his fingers, but he soon got the hang of it. Each stroke of the pen felt purposeful, and the purposefulness had a calming effect. 

The exhaust port. The exhaust port had possibilities. 

The revisions took days. He was careful to only work on it a few hours each day so he could still be seen to be doing other work, and he spent plenty of time at his data screen so that if his movements were actually being logged, someone would see him doing something with his time. 

He also spent more time with Krennic, trying to build up the friendly relationship they had once had so the revelation he was about to make would not sound suspicious. He made sure he'd spent several days nosing about the exhaust system before he brought the matter up.

"I need to make a change to the original plans," he said one day when they were eating dinner together. It was a ritual he had to endure for the sake of his cover, but that did not make it any less loathsome. 

"You do?" 

"Oh, yes," Galen said simply. "The amount of power being generated by the crystals would overwhelm the system designed on Geonosis. The entire thing would explode."

Krennic paled. "Well, we certainly don't want that. Do you have a new design in mind?" 

"I do." He was half afraid Krennic would demand to see his design, that all his subterfuge had been hopelessly transparent, but just as with every other technical piece of the whole operation so far, Krennic left the matter to Galen. 

"All right," he said reluctantly. "But we'll have to go to Scarif. The master plans are kept there. You'll have to change them." 

Galen hoped his smile would not betray him. 

The entire journey to Scarif he expected to be caught. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe he would walk into the data storage room and find it full of Death Troopers. 

But none of that happened. 

He had painstakingly transferred his paper notes to the storage drive, going slowly so that it would seem as though he were coming up with his new idea spontaneously. 

Now he held the data in his hands. He'd have to come back here if he ever changed his mind, though he was sure he wouldn't. He was confident in his decision, and he was confident in his plan. The flaw would work, and it would be missed. All that lay ahead was getting word to the Rebellion.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard. The file needed a name. He didn't know what kind of word he would be able to get to Saw's people. It might not be soon, but he would eventually find a way to reach them. Maybe it wouldn't even be until Jyn was old enough to fight.

Immediately, his hesitation vanished and he entered a file name.

He hoped it wouldn't take that long, but if it did, he knew Jyn would know exactly how to find the plans. That would have to be some measure of comfort to him. It was all he had left.


End file.
